I Samuel 14:13-15
“Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, with his armor bearer behind him; and they fell before Jonathan, and his armor bearer put some to death after him. That first slaughter which Jonathan and his armor bearer made was about twenty men within about half a furrow in an acre of land. And there was a trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. Even the garrison and the raiders trembled, and the earth quaked so that it became a great trembling.”
What an amazing story. Jonathon had an idea. It was a bold one, full of faith. He put out a question that was like a small prayer, “God, if Your in this, we know You can defeat them with only us. Please show us in this manner.” It was as he asked so they went forward. From it we see a miracle happen.
Many motivational thoughts come to mind: “one with God is a majority”, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”, (Philippians 4:13), and so on. While Jonathon is a main character in the story, but God is the one behind him, the one making the entire event happen.
Does the Lord work through us? Absolutely. It may or may not be at this level, but God wants to work through us. He will set up the circumstances and plant the idea in our minds. It will be exciting and scary at the same time.
We may not see the fruit. Even if we do, it might not be visible to many. Often the things we do for the Lord are known to a few. We might not know. We have probably blessed others and we don’t always get the positive feedback. We move on knowing that God knows our hearts and that He will fill us.
Gods rewards come in heaven and the present. Part of it is knowing we obeyed. He also gives fulness of heart. Ephesians 3:19 says, “and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.” That fulness gives us great joy. The parable of the talents demonstrates that if one is faithful in little, more will be given (Matthew 25).
There is rarely a sense of magnitude. That is probably a good thing, as we would be too intimidated to act. They usually come as thoughts just as with Jonathon. “I wonder if…”. We can toss out questions to God. We can ask for confirmation or closed doors. Sometimes the results come as we hoped. Other times it between us and God or between the other person and God.
This process is part of the life of faith. Some seasons are difficult. However, God clings to us and us to Him. The tough times can be settings for opportunities. “We walk by faith, not by sight”, (2 Corinthians 5:7). We might be in the doldrums, where times are dry and boring. The Lord uses us in any season.
What a blessing to be in a dynamic relationship with God. We like to feel we have significance. Our society recognizes this and we give trophies to every participant. This is well intended, but all know that it doesn’t give us significance. Actual results are what we crave. The Lord seeks to fill us in that manner. Jonathon got it. Even though we don’t deserve much credit, He blesses us with it. Psalm 23 says, “He prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies.” It’s as if He hosts an honor banquet for us. That sounds arrogant to say, but that’s what the passage means.
Lord, we thank You for this life of faith. Help us to be courageous and take those opportunities. Thank You that You empower us and use us.